Norman D. Dicks: “I strongly support the goal of this legislation to call attention to the importance of the aerospace industry in our…”

“I strongly support the goal of this legislation to call attention to the importance of the aerospace industry in our Nation. The aerospace sector provides our economy over 840,000 jobs and constitutes over $210 billion in annual sales and $78 billion in exports. It is a vital sector that we appreciate all the more when other significant segments of the economy are struggling. Because I come from the Puget Sound region in the State of Washington, it is hard not to have an awareness of the aerospace industry. In my home State, there are many companies developing and producing a wide range of aerospace products. But, of course, the dominant presence is Boeing. The Boeing company directly employs over 72,000 people in Washington State, and they draw on over 2,700 suppliers in the State while buying over $3.3 billion of goods and services per year.”